Willian: I wanted to take penalty

Willian has confirmed he asked to take the crucial penalty which Ross Barkley failed to convert in Chelsea's Champions League loss to Valencia on Tuesday.

England international Barkley skimmed his attempt off the top of the crossbar in the 87th minute of the Premier League side's 1-0 home loss. The midfielder had been introduced from the bench seven minutes earlier and only settled over the spot-kick following a debate with starters Willian and Jorginho. Blues boss Frank Lampard later revealed Barkley to be the designated penalty taker but experienced winger Willian had hoped to be entrusted with the chance.

"He was confident about taking it and I asked to take it too," Willian said. "But he was confident. He ended up missing it. That could happen to me or any other player, like Jorginho who also takes the penalties. It is important he keeps his head up. When you win, you win together and when you lose, you lose together too."

 

18 September 2019

Barkley's miss and Rodrigo Moreno's earlier goal for Valencia contributed to a difficult night for Chelsea, who lost Mason Mount to a leg injury. The result left Lampard's men with work to do ahead of next month's trip to Ligue 1 side Lille, who were 3-0 losers to Ajax in Group H's other game.

"We expected a positive result," Willian said. "We expected to start at home with a victory, but unfortunately we lost it. We have five games left to qualify. I think we have a chance, of course. We have to improve and we have to keep our heads up and keep working. We have everything in front of us."